EXPERTS are today expected to announce whether the latest Suffolk bird flu outbreak is the highly infectious H5N1 form of the disease.
EXPERTS are today expected to announce whether the latest Suffolk bird flu outbreak is the highly infectious H5N1 form of the disease.
After through the night tests on the strain, found in a flock of free-range turkeys at a rearing unit in Redgrave, confirmation is due today from scientists.
There are fears that it could spread and devastate the hugely-profitable Christmas trade in poultry meat, which would add to the huge losses already caused by the other diseases.
Around 5,000 birds, including ducks and geese, on the infected farm were being culled last night after testing positive for the contagious H5 strain.
The alarm was raised on Sunday after a rise in death rates among the birds, which are owned by poultry producer Gressingham Foods, based in Woodbridge.
Around 6,000 birds were on the site when the virus emerged and the site's operations director Geoff Buchanan said about 60 turkeys in a flock of 1,000 had tested positive.
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